A walk in the garden on a spring morning

Spring is in full swing here in Tucson, and my backyard garden is flourishing. And (you might want to sit down for this), the weather is lovely. IIRC this time last year it was over 100F, but we’ve been in the 80s all week. It’s supposed to be only 81 today and isn’t supposed to break 90 till Monday. Wheee!!!

(I know–me bragging about Tucson weather after March is unprecedented.)

I’m going to keep bragging too, this time about my garden. But before I become too insufferable:

This post is part of the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. (Edit on Saturday: I’m also linking up with a new blog hop, First Friday Photo, hosted by Eden at A Garden of Delights. Imagine we’re sipping our drinks while wandering garden paths on a perfect spring morning. We’ll stop to smell the jasmine and the roses and try not to trip over the irrigation tubing I left on the path when I stopped working yesterday.

The garden: last year vs. this year

Here’s what my backyard looked like last April, just a little over a year ago:

We had just laid the paths, installed the trellises, and started mulching.

Here’s the same yard as of this morning:

The plants climbing the trellises on the right in the second and third pics are star jasmine. For once I wish this blog had Smell-A-Vision, because they’re blooming and make the whole garden smell heavenly. The plant on the left in the first pic is my neighbor’s white oleander, which appears to be trying to eat the neighborhood.

Before I go on vacation later this month, I need to finish expanding our drip irrigation system and spread a very large pile of compost and pull weeds and deadhead roses and… it’s so worth it to see this view out my back door every morning.

Because I never can resist showing off flower pics, here are some closeups from this morning’s garden walk:

Roses

Pomegranates and hyssop

I love how the pomegranate tree looks against our violently purple garden wall.

As I mentioned last week, I’m busy preparing for an interview for a possible promotion, so no writing news or anything else to report.

The memery

Let’s stick with the garden theme.

Fortunately for my family, I’m *way* too lazy to dig a hole that big.

Unfortunately for my family, I do this on a regular basis:

They’ve learned to just nod and smile and escape as quickly as possible.

Then there are my poor guests (and blog readers):

And, really, random strangers:

And finally, I’ve posted this one here before, but I love it so much I’m posting it again:

Happy Friday! What’s growing in your yard?

45 Comments

  • Karen

    I sipped my coffee while reading & imagining I’m smelling your roses, so pretty. Wow, what an amazing difference in your garden from one year to the next.

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! One of the benefits of a warm climate is that things grow really fast.

  • Michelle

    Oh Janet, your memes made me laugh. Love it! And your garden is beautiful. Having lived in Las Vegas twice for years at a time, I can so appreciate the 80’s in the desert. There is nothing more perfect. Sending you good mojo on your possible promotion.

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! Vegas gets even hotter than Tucson, and yes, 80s is positively wonderful.

  • Natalie

    Such a beautiful transformation in your garden. Those roses look gorgeous. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.

  • ganga1996

    Wow, your garden is a beauty. Yes, if we can send smell online I would love to smell your flowers. I think that technology would happen soon.

  • Eden

    Roses are one of my weaknesses… Your garden is lovely, Janet. I’m so glad you joined my little bloghop so I was able to see it

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! They’re one of my weaknesses too, and pretty soon I’m going to be out of space for more 🙁

  • trent

    The garden looks great. And if anyone was giving you that Woody horror face last April, well….

    I hope you are having a great weekend!

    • Janet Alcorn

      Believe me, the pics from last April are a big improvement over what the backyard looked like when we bought the house. Maybe I’ll share those next time. Spoiler alert: it was gravel. All gravel. Blech.

  • Denyse Whelan Blogs

    Oh wow, what a refreshing and beautiful garden area I see. We are almost into Winter here and whilst I have been keen to add some flowering shrubs to the garden (in the rental house) we may have to wait till Spring. Good luck with the job… Take care, Denyse

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! Waiting for spring is so hard. One of the many things I love about a warm climate is being able to dig in the dirt in the middle of winter. But then summer gardening is nearly impossible so…

  • Maria

    You really made a fabulous job planning out your garden. It looks wonderful! We are expecting temperatures with highs of 65-70F this coming week, and I’m hoping it’s going to give my garden a kickstart, after our long winter.

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! Glad you have some warmer weather on the way! I’ve lived in colder climates, and I know how much those first few warm days mean.

  • Debbie

    Wow Janet, your garden has come on in leaps and bounds, it’s fabulous! It snowed here today in Tumbarumba (NSW Australia) not a lot, but enough to make us think winter is coming!

  • leannelc

    Hi Janet – your garden is looking lovely – and the roses are beautiful. I’ve never been a gardener and the one rosebush I had never really seemed to thrive. I stick with the super easy stuff these days – if it’s green and it survives my limited skills, then it’s a keeper!

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! And I understand. I don’t have the time or energy to deal with plants that require too much fiddling to keep happy. I finished expanding our drip irrigation system yesterday, so now I don’t even have to worry about remembering to water.

  • Gary A Wilson

    Remarkable what a bit of attention and temperatures below scalding can do for green growing things, but your garden yard does look great. Long may it drink and prosper.
    Even you would have to admit that saguaros are cool but those roses are drop-dead gorgeous.
    So, after this tour, can we tour Bobo’s next – – pleeze. . .

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks!

      My son toured Bobos last weekend. I haven’t been there in months, and I really need to fix that. Time to explore a banana pancake the size of a medium pizza.

    • Janet Alcorn

      Thanks! I have all kinds of expansion plans, most of which involve vines and other vertical things b/c my yard is so small.

      • Scribble and Scran

        I was trying to keep a small veggie patch, we are always typically way during the hottest part of the year. So I either lose the effort to lack of water and beasties. Need more plants like Rhubarb 🙂

  • Elizabeth Seckman

    So, I know you’ll understand my complaint…I took my husband to the greenhouse with me and he said…remember, we only need tomatoes.

    Wasn’t that just the meanest thing to say to a plant lover in spring???

    • Janet Alcorn

      Whaaaaat? You need to start digging one of those six-foot rectangular holes.

  • Joanne

    Your garden is looking so beautiful! We’re just starting to see green buds and leaves and things but I know everything will be blooming soon. My favorites are the peonies and the rhododendrons– since they are such big blooms and two of the main plants in my garden I haven’t yet killed.

    • Janet Alcorn

      Rhododendrons are everywhere in Portland, where I used to live. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers, and I’ve never had much luck growing them. It’s a lost cause here, but even in places where they should have done well, they didn’t do well for me.

      Glad you’re seeing some signs of spring!

  • Rebecca Douglass

    Lovely garden! When I bought my home last year (can’t believe it’s been over a year already!) it came with a beautiful garden, giving me the challenge of tweaking it to fit me better without messing it up. (And yes, I know I’m really late getting back to you here!).

    • Janet Alcorn

      I’ve never bought a home with a complete existing garden. That would be an interesting challenge. Mostly the homes we’ve bought had a few trees and maybe foundation plantings but not much else, so a nearly blank canvas for me to play with.